Path of Dragons-Chapter 59Book 8: : Worry

Ducking beneath an enormous, iron-studded club, Sadie swept Final Verdict around in wide arc. The blade bit deep into the ogre’s knee, severing tendons and fouling the joint, but the ten-foot-tall creature managed to remain upright. At least that was the case until it was hit by seven blazing arrows that tore a massive crater in its chest. Sadie used that to her advantage, aiming a two-handed uppercut at the ogre. The shining blade tore into its torso, cutting through its ribs, and destroying its lungs.

The attack left her open to reprisal, and the ogre – ever the opportunist, just like all the others Sadie had fought – took that opening. It hit her with a powerful backhand, its knuckles smashing into her hastily raised arm. Even through Aegis of Faith, the impact fractured her forearm, but that was the least of her problems. The blow also shattered the ethereal shield like it wasn’t even there, and a second later, she found herself skipping across the battlefield until she hit a mostly destroyed wall.

Thankfully, another volley of arrows hit the ogre a moment later, preventing it from taking advantage of her brief bout of disorientation. When her head cleared, the ogre was clearly on its last legs. Blood poured from the wound in its side, frothing so violently that it appeared light pink instead of deep red. In addition, the injury to its leg was obviously an issue, forcing its gait into a limp.

Still, despite what she suspected was a mortal wound, it wasn’t down.

And Sadie knew from experience that it wouldn’t soon fall. She’d only been in Svetogorsk for a couple of weeks, but she’d already seen that the enemy was capable of taking far more punishment than should have been possible. She had no idea what kind of Constitution attribute they could boast, but it was far superior to her own.

Being one of the elder races obviously came with many benefits, even aside from their powerful cores.

The only saving grace was that ogres were often solitary, at least this far from the Primal Realm’s entrance. The closer they got, the more common groups became, and she suspected the realm itself played host to whole armies.

Without further hesitation, Sadie leveled the Final Verdict at the enemy, activating Blade of the Avenger. Less than an instant later, an enormous copy of the two-handed greatsword erupted from the ground beneath the ogre, slicing through its thigh and nearly severing its good leg. It howled in agony, turning its attention to her. However, the archers knew when to press the advantage, and yet another flight of gleaming arrows hit the creature before it could take a single staggering step.

But that’s when things went wrong.

With a roar, the frustrated ogre reached down, grabbed an enormous slab of broken concrete – it must have weighed at least a couple of tons – and threw it at the distant archers. It screamed through the air, ready to flatten the less-durable members of Sadie’s new team.

She acted on instinct, flinging her hand out and using two spells concurrently. The first was Blessed Bulwark, which created a plane of ethera between the projectile and the vulnerable archers. The hunk of concrete smashed through it almost instantly, but the impact shattered it into multiple pieces. The second spell – which took a bit longer to cast – activated just in time. Halo of Protection manifested in powerful shields that protected all six of her allies, and when the smaller chunks of concrete hit, the archers were only staggered.

But the battle was not finished.

Sadie immediately shifted her attention back to the ogre – who was already howling in rage at how ineffectively he’d managed to vent his ire – and used Blade of Judgement. Another copy of Final Verdict hit the monster, but this was no glancing blow. It bit deep into the creature’s groin, tearing through its most delicate flesh with ease. When the blade disappeared into motes of glittering ethera, the ogre was only capable of taking a single step before it fell.

It wasn’t dead yet, though.

From experience, Sadie knew it would likely take days for the thing to bleed out, and even then, it was no sure thing. Ogres weren’t equipped with exceptional Regeneration, but because of their Constitution, they could survive things no other creature could. Their skin was like a rhino’s, and they were stronger – pound for pound – than anything Sadie had ever encountered.

Dangerous foes that, even fallen, could not be taken lightly.

Sadie shouted for the archers to continue their assault. She knew they were likely running low on ethera, largely because their naked arrows could never hope to penetrate even the weakest ogre’s hide. So, they were forced to use their abilities with every shot. For most, it took multiple abilities skills stacked atop one another to make their projectiles viable.

Knowing that they wouldn’t be capable of killing the thing off, Sadie picked herself up and strode forward. Her gait was unhurried as she closed the gap, and soon enough, she was in range.

The ogre turned its ugly, mashed-face head in her direction, growling, “You cannot defeat us. Surrender, and your deaths will be quick.”

Sadie’s expression twisted in disgust. It would have been so much easier if the monsters were as stupid as they appeared. However, from everything she’d seen, they were as intelligent as any other race, which made their choices all the more despicable. They knew just how destructive – for themselves as well as their enemies – their path of conquest was, and yet, they refused to stop.

“I wish I could promise you a swift death,” Sadie said. “But we both know this is going to be long and painful.”

The ogre laughed, the sound cut off when another flight of arrows slammed into his prone form. “So it is with the strong. Do your worst, puny human. I revel in the pain, for it is proof of my strength.”

Sadie knew better than to argue. Instead, she raised her sword, and before the creature could do anything unexpected, she brought the blade of the Final Verdict down in a vicious hack that cut deep into the ogre’s exposed neck. The spine was protected by layer after layer of muscle and fat, so the first blow did nothing but spray blood in every direction. The second was little different, save that it was accompanied by a gurgling laugh emanating from the ogre. But the third severed the creature’s spine, ending its life.

Sadie’s shoulders slumped in exhaustion before she flexed her injured arm. A quick heal reduced the pain to a dull ache, but it wasn’t powerful enough to completely mend the injury. It would need to be enough for now, though.

They’d only managed to kill five ogres in the past couple of days, and already, she was exhausted. And the Primal Realm was still a long way away, deep in the forest and nestled in the center of what used to be an old, Finnish castle. Sadie wasn’t certain if it had been there before the world’s transformation, but she’d seen plenty of photos that suggested it was nigh impregnable.

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There was another entrance, but given that it was guarded by hobgoblins, assaulting it had been deemed the worse of their two options.

When the archers reached her, she said, “Butcher it. Take what we need. I think I’ve seen enough. It’s time to return to the city.”

With that, her subordinates – or guides, really – fell upon the ogre with grim determination. As gruesome as the butchery was, ogres were full of useful parts. Their bones were good for weapons, their hides could be treated for use in leather armor, and some of their organs had powerful alchemical properties.

And in Svotogorsk, the people had learned to use everything they could, regardless of how distasteful it could be. Any other attitude would have seen the death of their entire community.

Even with appropriate skills to lighten the load, it took more than two hours to butcher the creature. It had lost none of its durability in death, after all. As the Rangers worked, Sadie watched for any scavengers or, worse, more ogres. Thankfully, no other enemies presented themselves, and so, the group packed everything up, then began the long trek back to Svotogorsk.

As they did, Sadie kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. The Rangers’ senses were much sharper than hers, but she was far more diligent. The area looked like the snow-covered warzone it was, with fallen buildings and snow drifts that could easily swallow the unwary.

In a way, it reminded her of Hong Kong. Certainly, it was less intact, but the aura of desolation was similar. More, she could feel a twinge of bloodlust in the air. It made her heart beat a little faster, and she knew that, if she let loose the vice-like grip on her emotions, she would be much easier to enrage.

She’d been warned about that.

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The Primal Realm was one of conflict, and as such, it had tainted the entire region. When it had first appeared, that effect had sent multiple clans to war with one another. Only because of Ivanka and her husband – driven by the threat of the ogres and hobgoblins – had they managed to overcome their differences and focus on the deadly situation that had befallen the region.

Still, when they finally reached the fortress city of Svotogorsk, she felt the tension in the air. In the short time she’d spent there before setting out to investigate the situation herself, she’d found that the residents had far shorter tempers than would have been expected. Fights were common. Murders were more frequent than they should have been. And the only thing keeping people in line was Ivanka’s iron grip, which manifested in a stunningly brutal police force that would beat people first and ask questions later.

As much as Sadie hated to admit it, that approach was necessary. Otherwise, the people there would have already killed one another over minor slights that escalated into blood feuds.

Thankfully, her high-quality armor, giant sword, and aura of power kept most people from testing her strength, and she entered the city without much issue. The settlement was incredibly compact and far more vertical than any other place she’d been. The sturdy, concrete buildings looked more like bunkers than anything else, and they were built right on top of one another. Most reached a height of at least five stories, though many were far taller.

If someone tried to assault the fortress, they would effectively be forced to go through hundreds of walls to get at anything worthwhile. As Sadie walked down one of only five main streets, she wondered how those walls would hold up against an ogre’s club.

Not well, she expected.

But the Tradesmen had done the best they could with what they had. A good fortress was necessary, but weapons and armor were just as, if not more, important for their survival. Because of that, Svotogorsk played host to the highest average level among their crafters that Sadie had seen. Conflict bred progression, it seemed, though it also blunted creativity.

Maybe it would be enough, though.

Because of the city’s layout, which kept it from expanding outward, she reached her first destination pretty quickly. Approaching the city’s Branch, she hoped against hope that she’d find what she needed. However, when it was her turn, and she was allowed to access the messaging system, she found nothing waiting for her.

It had been weeks since she’d heard from Elijah, and she couldn’t help but be worried that he’d bitten off more than he could chew. She knew he was alive – Nerthus was capable of using the Branch, and he would have sensed it if Elijah was suddenly disconnected – but beyond that, she had no idea what was going on with him. The last she’d heard from him was when she’d left for Russia.

Since then, she’d gotten nothing.

“The idiot probably went in by himself,” she sighed to herself. That would be just like him. The only solace was that, if anyone could survive such a thing, it was Elijah. He had no chance of conquering it, certainly…probably, but he had the tools to survive. And the arrogance to know that.

After sending a message to her grandfather – it would probably go unanswered, but she refused to cut contact with her only remaining family – she headed to meet with Ivanka. The woman was an Administrator rather than an actual fighter, so as normal, Sadie found her in her office and surrounded by papers.

Her husband stood silently nearby. He was the fighter of the couple, and Sadie suspected that if the power rankings still existed, he’d have been knocking on the door of the top ten.

At one point, she’d thought that the best of the best had participated in the Trial of Primacy, but many of the most powerful people on Earth had chosen to forego the test. Instead, they had focused on their people’s survival. That was the attitude of most of the settlers, but it wasn’t that uncommon among humans, either.

That was the choice Jari had made, though he didn’t seem much weaker for it.

“Did you see what you needed to see?” asked Ivanka, not even looking up from where she was scratching something on a piece of paper.

“We killed a few ogres,” Sadie answered. “They are just as formidable as you claimed.”

“Formidable! Ha!” the woman exclaimed. “Devushka, it normally takes a troop of fifty to take one of them down, and not without casualties. Just wait until you fight some hobgoblins. They’re not as strong or durable, but they’re plenty powerful. And they’re quick, too. They’re never alone, either. You see one – eh, maybe fifty more you don’t see. You should see them fight each other. It would be impressive if it wasn’t so terrifying.”

“I believe it,” Sadie said.

“So, will you do it?” asked Ivanka.

“I don’t see that there’s much choice. We’ll start cycling troops tomorrow morning. I’ll lead one myself,” she said. The plan was simple enough. Trying to assault the Primal Realm with their current resources was tantamount to suicide. Instead, Ivanka had revealed a plan to slowly increase their strength by hunting the ogres and hobgoblins that populated the area. Like that, their army would gain levels and prepare to attack the Primal Realm.

The only limiting factor was that each group would need someone with significant power to lead them, else the lower-level fighters would end up falling prey to the much stronger ogres and hobgoblins. Sadie and Jari took two of those positions, but there were a handful of other, only slightly weaker fighters who would lead the other groups.

“What is the timeframe?” asked Sadie.

“A few months. No more than six. Then, we must attack. Otherwise, those monsters will overrun this city.”

“Six months,” Sadie said. Hopefully, it would be enough. But it highlighted the problem at hand. If they took six months just to prepare, then it wasn’t out of the question that it might take at least that long to conquer the realm itself.

Sadie knew that the Desolate Reach should have taken far longer to overcome. If Elijah hadn’t taken care of the massive army of undead, they would have been mired in constant battle for weeks – or perhaps months. As a result, she fully expected that without his help, things would be much more time-consuming.

And they had many other Primal Realms to conquer as well. Ten years seemed like a long time, but with the task at hand, Sadie recognized that things would be a lot closer than any of them had originally expected.

“Then we have no time to waste,” Sadie said. Then, she took a seat so they could work out the logistical details. It was tedious work, but with so much on the line, she didn’t dare cut any corners.

Still, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but indulge her worry for Elijah. Hopefully, he was keeping safe.

She let out a soft chuckle that got Ivanka’s attention. “What is it?” she asked.

“Just thinking about a friend and his fundamental incapability of looking out for his own safety.”

“Ah. I know this problem,” Ivanka said, glancing at where Jari had stood only a few minutes before. He’d since headed out to organize the fighters.

“How do you deal with it?”

“I don’t. I can’t change him, so I just do my best to keep him alive and kicking. What else is there?”

Sadie sighed. Ivanka was right, though she didn’t like to think in those terms. She’d rather have everything within her control, and like it or not, Elijah just wasn’t the sort to be controlled.

Pushing that depressing thought away, she said, “Then we’d better get this done.”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t live long enough to ensure that Elijah didn’t get himself killed.